The Secret's out
by SherrBERT
Summary: FINALLY UPDATED! it could be a bad format cuz i used a new program J.T. is the joker. But what if it's all just a cover- up to hide a big secret? r/r!
1. Default Chapter

Author's note: Yes! A Degrassi section! FINALLY! I have been waiting for one since the day Degrassi came on The-N. Ok, I don't own the cast of Degrassi, although I wouldn't mind owning Ryan Cooley. (J.T.) Anywayz, on with the story! Please review, and if you like Lizzie McGuire, I have 2 fan fics in that section. Ok, read on! Oh, and in this story, Craig is not there, and never will be, so if you're looking for him, you're looking in the wrong place.  
  
Chapter 1: It's all a Cover  
  
J.T. Yorke walked into the halls of Degrassi trying his best to smile and think of he funniest jokes he could- for cover. He had a secret, that he could never even tell his closest friends. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was so startled, it caused him to shiver from his head to his toes.  
  
"Whoa, sorry J.T." Emma said, as J.T. recovered from his little scare. Manny was looking at him like she knew something was up. He tried his best to act like nothing was wrong.  
  
"Uh, hey, guys." He said, a little shakily. Now Toby and Emma were looking at him funny, too. "What?" he asked, failing miserably at hiding his secret. They continued to stare at him. He knew he had to do something, but his mouth wouldn't open, and all of the dumb jokes he thought of before had completely disappeared from his mind. He did the only logical thing to do. He ran down the hallway and outside to where everyone else was eating lunch.  
  
He had to hide. He knew they would probably follow him out here. He was about to run into the woods, when Sean ran over to him, followed by Emma, Toby, and Manny. Great. He thought to himself. Just great. Now they have Sean in with them too. What am I gonna do? He was turning away when Sean took him by the arm and swirled him around to face his friends. He sat down on the bench that was right behind him, and Emma sat down next to him.  
  
"J.T, are you Ok?" she asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He couldn't say anything. His mouth had a dry feeling in it, almost like he was about to vomit. He looked at Emma, then to Manny, then to Toby, then Sean. He put his face in his hands. He couldn't tell them. Not yet.  
  
I know. Really short chapter, but I promise they'll get longer. PLEASE REVIEW! The more reviews I get, the more determined I get! 


	2. What if i told you

Author's note: Ok, I know the last chapter was so short it was sad. But I promise you, this one will be longer! I had a lot of homework to do , plus I had swim practice AND I had to baby-sit. But I'm back and here is chapter 2. Ok, here we go.  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
Emma paced around her room after school that day, with Toby, Manny, and Sean watching her every move tensely. They had been trying to figure out what had happened to J.T. ever since he got up and ran away from them at lunch when Emma asked him what was wrong. Sean sat with his hands resting on his knees, bent over trying to put together some clues.  
  
"Ok, let's see here." He began still working out some details. "J.T. runs away from us every time we come near him, he hasn't cracked any jokes in the past two days, and he refuses to tell anyone what is wrong. Did I miss anything?"  
  
At that moment, Toby spoke up. "When he came by my house the other day, he asked what time it was. I told him it was 7:00 and he literally jumped out of his chair in my kitchen and ran out the door mumbling "He's gonna kill me."" As he said those last words, Emma's eyes grew wide. She quickly ran outside and down the street to J.T.'s house.  
  
When she got there, she pounded on the door. The door opened, revealing J.T's father. "Hi, Emma. How are you today?" A couple of minutes ago, Emma would have believed Mr. Yorke's charade, but she had a feeling she knew what J.T.'s secret was. She had to answer, to make sure he didn't know she knew what was going on.  
  
"Hi, Mr. Yorke. Uh, is J.T. home?" she plastered a smile to her face, as hard as it was.  
  
"Uh, I think he went down to the river about an hour ago." He smiled. "You should check there." Emma grew scared. Why would J.T. be down there? Did Mr. Yorke do something to him? Was he ok? All of these thoughts went through Emma's mind at the same time.  
  
"Uh, um, thanks." She said, and off she went.  
  
As she ran, it began to rain. It started as a light drizzle, but as she neared the river, they rain became heavier and it became harder to see. She searched frantically around . She ran across the bridge to the other side. She was about to give up when she was able to make out a figure sitting on the bench a couple of yards away from her.  
  
"J.T? Is that you?" she asked as she walked closer to the bench. As she moved in closer, she realized it was him. She sat down next to him. He was shivering. Drops of water dripped down the tip of his nose and fingers. She looked at him with worry. He looked away.  
  
"J.T, I'm your friend, you can talk to me! We've been friends for like- 5 years." There was an awkward moment of silence. She couldn't help what happened next. She just kind of blurted it out. "It's your father, isn't it?" She said, looking into his eyes that had turned to her was she stated those last words. He nodded, still shivering. "Come on, you should go home before you get sick. We'll talk more there." She began to get up, and noticed J.T. did not have an interest in moving from the bench. She sat down again.  
  
"I can't go home." He stated flatly.  
  
"Why not?" she couldn't help but ask.  
  
"My dad- My dad is an- alcoholic." Emma looked at him with obvious sympathy.  
  
"What does he do to you?" By now, she became oddly nervous and started fiddling with her fingers.  
  
"Just- stuff." J.T. looked away. "He hits me sometimes. He says he has a dud for a child, and he wishes I was never born. He says he had always wanted anything BUT me. And after my mom and he got divorced, and she moved to New York, well," He didn't think he had to finish in order for Emma to get the picture.  
  
"We need to tell someone. Maybe my mom and Mr. Simpson can help-"  
  
"No." J.T. cut in. "You can't even tell Manny about this. Promise me you won't tell anyone." He said, looking her square in the eye. As much as she didn't want to do this, she agreed.  
  
"J.T?" she asked, nervously.  
  
"What?" he asked looking at the ground.  
  
"I love you."  
  
OOOH! CLIFFIE! Lol. Sorry, but I gtg so review and I'll keep writing! TTFN! 


	3. The secret's out

Author's note: Nope, still don't own any of 'em. Feedback is appreciated! I may only be able to update once a week, so be patient! Thanks. Here we go.  
  
Chapter 3: The Secret's out.  
  
Emma couldn't sleep at all that night. Her mom had come up to check on her every few minutes. She could hear Emma's sobs from her bedroom down the hall. She knew it had something to do with one of her friends.  
  
Emma heard a knock at her bedroom door. "Please don't come in." she tried to sound as cheerful as possible, but her charade was ruined by the muffled voice and the blowing of her nose afterwards. The door slowly opened, revealing her concerned mother looking at her with sympathy in her eyes.  
  
"Honey, what's wrong?" she asked as she entered the room just as slowly as she had opened the door. She sat on the edge of her daughter's bed and placed her hand on Emma's back, trying to calm her down. Emma didn't give her mother an answer. "Emma, please tell me what is bothering you. Did you get into a fight with Manny?" Emma shook her head. "Toby?" Emma shook her head again. "Sean?" Once again, Emma shook her head, her face buried in her pillow. "J.T?" as her mother said those words, Emma let out a loud sob and continued to cry. "So it's J.T. then." Her mom said, still trying to figure it out. "Did he say anything to offend you?"  
  
"No." was all Emma could say between her sobs, which had grown even louder.  
  
"Did you two have any sort of fight?" Emma shook her head again.  
  
"Is he alright?" Her mom asked, becoming a little more concerned. When she didn't receive any sort of answer, she began to panic. "Is something wrong with him? Did he hurt himself?" Emma sat up on her bed.  
  
"He told me not to tell you." She said while wiping her watery eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.  
  
"Em, if something is wrong with him, if he is in danger, and if you care about him, sometimes you have to go against what he says for his own good." Her mother was becoming even more concerned.  
  
"Mom, he'll hate me if I tell you!" she said, crying into her mother's shoulder as if she were 5 years old.  
  
"Hon, if it's that bad, I have a feeling he will be grateful." She said, rubbing Emma's back in sympathy.  
  
"Fine." Emma said, wiping her eyes. "It's his dad."  
  
"Is his dad ok?"  
  
"Yeah, his dad if fine. But Mom, he's an alcoholic." Emma said, looking at her mother with worry.  
  
"Did J.T. say his father hurt him in any way?"  
  
"He said his dad hits him sometimes, and he says he has a dud for a son, and that he wished for anything BUT him." Her mother stood up.  
  
"We should call Mr. Simpson." Was all she could say.  
  
"No, Mom! J.T. made me promise!" 


	4. This Can All Turn Around

Author's note: Sorry I haven't updated in suck a long time! I've been REALLY busy! Ok, I don't own Degrassi or anything like that. Tootles!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Emma's mother paced around Emma's room waiting to go pick her up from school. It was 2:45. She might as well leave now. Normally, she wouldn't pick Emma up, but Emma wanted her to talk to J.T. today.  
  
When she arrived at the school, she saw Emma wave to her, and got out of her car. Emma ran over with Manny and Toby close in tow.  
  
"Mom, he's at his locker. We should go find Mr. Simpson and talk to him."  
  
As they walked into the school, they immediately spotted Mr. Simpson. He jogged over, looking a little uncomfortable.  
  
"Mr. Simpson, are you Ok?" Emma asked.  
  
"I guess I just never thought I would ever have to talk to a 13-year old about something like THIS."  
  
J.T. was still at his locker when they walked over to him. He looked at them, who were now staring at him in sympathy, shrugged it off, and kept cramming books in his backpack.  
  
"J.T, we need to talk." Emma immediately realized her mistake. He knew that she had told everyone now. He looked at her, almost with a tint of hatred in his blue eyes. (Are his eyes blue? I have no idea!) He turned around to go the other way, but nearly walked straight into Mr. Simpson who was blocking his only way out. He turned around, not exactly looking to happy.  
  
"I trusted you, Emma. I told you not to tell ANYONE. And what do you do, tell your mom, Mr. Simpson, Manny and Toby. Anyone else know?" His voice was now close to a yell.  
  
Emma hung down her head. "Sean knows, too."  
  
J.T. slammed his head back against the locker and sank down to the floor. Mr. Simpson and Emma's mom slowly walked over to him. Mrs. Nelson (I don't know what her last name is, but I know Emma's last name is Nelson so bear with me, ok?) put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He flinched as her warm hand touched his shoulder. No one said anything, but Mrs. Nelson slowly and carefully pulled his shirt a little, to reveal a large, back and blue spot on his shoulder. He didn't say anything. Emma got down on her knees in front of him as Mrs. Nelson discovered something even worse on his stomach- a large, red burn shaped like a clothing iron. J.T. looked away as nothing was going on. Emma, Toby and Manny gasped. He stood up, since everyone else was sitting down, and attempted walking away, but Sean was around the corner and grabbed his arm throwing him into a locker.  
  
"They're trying to help you! Why don't you just except the help and get on with your life? Chances are if they help you, your life will be a better one." J.T. just stood there, staring at Sean in shock.  
  
Yeah, yeah I know its short, but I gotta go to the mall~ *:0) ttyl! 


	5. a mistake

Author's note: YES! I finally updated! Ok, I don't own them. On with the story. Here we go. R/R!  
  
Sean grabbed J.T. and took him over to where to others were sitting and staring at the two. He then threw J.T. on the ground with the rest of them and sat down after him. "Now spill everything." Sean simply said, making J.T. know that he was totally serious about this.  
  
"I guess you guys know everything because Emma already told you." He said, trying to hold back tears.  
  
"Why don't you just tell us about your dad." Manny said, sadly. J.T. looked at her. He had a crush on Manny since about three years ago. Sooner or later, that crush turned into love that he had trouble containing. Looking at her made him break into tears. Just as he stopped crying, Ashley and Ellie came running down the hall.  
  
"Oh my god J.T. Toby told us what's been happening to you and we are so sorry that you're going through something like this." As Ashley said that Ellie's eyes grew wide showing that she knew Ashley shouldn't have said that. J.T. stood up quickly and began running for the doors before anyone could stop him. As soon as he left those doors both Emma and Manny began to cry, and Toby looked as if he were about to.  
  
J.T. hung down his head. He had nowhere to go. He was afraid to go home. Wait. His dad wouldn't be home from work for a couple of hours. He probably had enough time to get some of his things and start traveling to his mother's house. But that was in New York. As he pondered this escape, a thought crossed his mind: His friends. But friends wouldn't just blurt something like this out. He shrugged off the sadness that he may not see his friends again and broke into a run for his house. As he got in the door, he notices 3 beer cans lying on the floor, broken. He could have sworn he had picked all of them up this morning. That could only mean 1 thing.  
  
"Son, get over here!" a drunk voice came from the kitchen. J.T. picked up the broken bottles and slowly walked into the kitchen to find his dad sitting at the table drinking another beer. Mr. Yorke turned his head to look at his son.  
  
"Dad, I-"  
  
"Don't say anything, you little bastard!" He picked up an empty beer bottle and hurled it at J.T., neither of them realizing they had a terrified audience outside. The beer bottle missed J.T, but he crawled under the counter. Covering his head.  
  
"Mom, do something!" Emma whispered, as her mom picked up her cell phone and began dialing the police....  
  
Oooooh! Ok ill update soon! I promise! 


	6. Where will he go

Author's note: Ok, i know i said i would update soon, but i was sooooo busy! Thanks to jamaicanboy for telling me i should keep going. Ok, I'm back, hopefully for a while, so here we go.  
  
Emma's mother reached for her cell phone, then cursed at herself for leaving it at home again. "Archie, do you have your cell phone with you? Please tell me you do!"   
  
Archie reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He handed it to his wife. She immediately dialed 911 and told them everything.  
  
J.T. was now having trouble getting away from his father. He was about to run the other way when his father hit him in the head with the toaster. J.T. fell to his knees, and soon blacked out.  
  
Emma watched the entire thing with wide eyes. She looked over to Manny, but realized she wasn't there. She looked in the house to find that Mr. Yorke had left the kitchen, and Manny was sitting next to J.T, who was lying on the floor with a trickle of blood running down his forehead to the floor. Manny was on the verge of tears.   
  
Mr. Simpson walked into the house, and then over to where J.T. was lying. He placed his hand on his forehead and pressed down, trying to stop the blood from flowing. Then, outside, they heard a siren of police cars. Mrs. Simpson opened the door for them, and noticed there was an ambulence for J.T. as well. She led the police officers and paramedics into the kitchen.  
  
"I believe Mr. Yorke is somewhere upstairs," she said, trying to stay strong for all of the kids in the room. She couldn't help but let a couple of single tears fall from her eyes.  
  
The paramedics picked up J.T. and placed him in the abulance. Emma cried into her mother's shoulder, and Manny cried into Toby's. J.T. would be ok, but where would he go?  
  
Short. I know. Story of my life. Yeah well review and I'll put more up. 


End file.
